Keon Howe (Mallard Creek) is currently the top high jumper in the state, but he'll have to defend that position from Christopher Garrick (Marvin Ridge) on Saturday.

The Queen City Relays is one of the most storied meets on the North Carolina outdoor schedule; some of the current meet records date back to 1981. With temperatures barely forecast to reach 50 degrees, this might not be the year for a bunch of new records; however, some of the best talent in the Charlotte area will still be on display. Take a look at the events that appear to be the most competitive, and the athletes that are definitely worth checking out while you're there.

Events to Watch

• Girls 4x800 & Distance Medley: Lake Norman and Providence will square off just as the temperature is warming into the right range for distance running. Providence has run a NC #3 time of 9:47 this spring, along with a 9:39 indoors; Lake Norman ran 9:52 indoors. Add in Hough (9:54 indoors), Myers Park (9:58 indoors), and Marvin Ridge (10:03 indoors), and you have an extremely competitive race. The same teams will compete in the DMR, where a strong anchor gives you a big advantage; give that nod to Myers Park and Marvin Ridge, with Mary Prouty and Lexi King on the 1600 legs.
• Girls 4x100: Parkland and Mallard Creek ran in separate sections at the Marvin Ridge Invitational last weekend, and Mallard Creek ended up only 0.04 behind. Saturday, they will be in the same section, and that should be interesting to watch. Also, the race for third between West Meck, Phillip O. Berry, Olympic, and Hopewell should be intense.
• Boys 4x100: Asheville comes down the mountain to race Mallard Creek and Sun Valley, and it should be a good one - all 3 teams have FAT times in the 42's already this season. Z.B, Vance has the talent to run fast, and Glenn has a young crew with some potential, as well.
• Boys 4x200: NC #4 and #6 are in the race in the forms of Mallard Creek and Phillip O. Berry. Throw in a Vance team that likes this relay a lot, as well as a Hopewell team anchored by Jawan Miller, and you have a situation where any of them could take the win with smooth handoffs and strong effort. In this weather, the team that warms up the best often wins...
• Girls & Boys 1600 Sprint Medley: Parkland in a relay that has an 800 leg - that's a very intriguing concept. If the Mustangs load up some talent on the front end, they will be dominating by the time they go to the anchor, but the anchor runs as far as everyone else put together. Just like the DMR, that anchor leg makes the relay here. For that reason, you have to favor either a team with a big gun on the 800, like Hough with Maddie McHugh or Providence with Kayla Glova, or a balanced squad like Olympic that has solid athletes at all 4 legs. On the boys' side, North Meck has good sprinters, and they have Vincent Crisp to run the anchor - and that's all you need to know. Anyone that wants to beat Crisp will have to start at least 6 seconds ahead after the first 3 legs, and that's a tall order in the sprints.
• Girls 4x400: If Parkland is vulnerable anywhere, it is at the end of a long day where all of their top 6-8 athletes have been in multiple events. Phillip O. Berry has been running strong times in this event for the last few years, and this could be an upset.
• Boys High Jump & Triple Jump: When you have Marvin Ridge and Mallard Creek together at a meet, you have a ton of top-flight jumpers. In the high jump, that means Keon Howe (current NC #1 and US #6), Christopher Garrick (NC #1 and US #4 indoors), and Steve Fossi-Noue. Add in Nate Tyson (Asheville) and some other talent, and you have something worth watching. Nate's brother Noah, as well as Asheville teammate Mekhi McGuyver, will take on Garrick, Fossi-Noue, and Julian Gaines (Marvin Ridge) in the triple jump.
• Girls Triple Jump: Nateja Hale (Parkland) stepped into the opening when teammate Ila Mumford was injured in the winter, and Hale ended up 4th in the state indoors. She'll face the #3 and #5 jumpers from the winter season in Nicole Lawson (Hopewell) and Mikaela Siebert (Cuthbertson) at this meet. There will also be a pair of 36-footers in Lyndsey McLain (Marvin Ridge) and Olivia Walker (Hopewell) to push the top seeds. Walker is also the only 18-footer entered in the long jump.

Athletes to Watch

• Brent Carroll (Berry Academy) and Ebony Williams (Parkland), 300 Hurdles: Carroll is NC #2 and Williams NC #1 right now.
• Mary Prouty (Myers Park), Girls 3200: She is currently NC #4 in this event, but that won't be true anymore after Friday night's race in Raleigh; will the cool temperatures Saturday morning help her move back up the rankings?
• Khayla Dawson (Olympic), Girls Discus & Shot Put: Dawson fired the first shot with a 47-foot throw at the indoor state meet, but now Alycia Springs has returned fire with one of her own - and added a 140+ discus mark, to boot. The weather might not allow Dawson to respond as she would like, but rest assured that this battle is not over. This will be her first mark of the outdoor season, so at least it will give us a baseline for where her discus technique is (we already know the shot put is good).
• Grace Sullivan (Providence), Girls 1600: This event is new to the meet, and Sullivan is always a threat to break 5 minutes.
• Cassie Kowalski (Hough), Girls Pole Vault: Kowalski just cleared 12 feet for the first time, and you know she wants to replicate that feat.